Effectiveness of Pictoword in Enhancing Vocabulary Retention
among Grade 8 Students
Gelyn B. Pelare., Almaluna C. Piatos., Genelyn Baluyos
Department of Education, Misamis University
Received: 18 November 2025; Accepted: 27 November 2025; Published: 04 December 2025
ABSTRACT
This study examined the effectiveness of the Pictoword game in enhancing vocabulary retention among Grade
8 students in a public secondary school in Misamis Occidental during the school year 2024–2025. Using a one-
group pretest-posttest design, the research involved students with low vocabulary retention. Before the
intervention, most learners did not meet expectations. After using Pictoword, their performance improved
remarkably, with many achieving outstanding results. Checklist ratings also showed progress from very poor to
very good, and statistical analysis confirmed that the improvement was significant. The findings highlight
Pictoword’s effectiveness as an interactive, image-based tool for enhancing vocabulary learning and recommend
its integration into English instruction.
Keywords: Pictoword, Vocabulary, Retention, Gamification, Instruction
INTRODUCTION
In recent years many activities have appeared to help learners understand what they are reading. One of these
activities is through the use of pictoword activity that uses pictures or other visual images to represent words or
symbols that we can integrate in improving their interpretation. study was to determine the effectiveness of
pictoword activity in improving poem interpretation of grade 8 students. The use of the pictoword method is
highly recommended to increase the performance of the students (Gomez, 2023). The implementations were
Spelling Bee games as pre-test, “Two Pictures One Word” games from the Pictoword Game, and then proceed
with two crossword puzzles as post-test. The researchers analysed mixed methods using the Triangulation of
spelling document analysis, observation’s checklist and Emoji survey. There had been an improvement in the
participants’ spelling performance in compound nouns after the intervention and gave positive opinions
concerning the use of the game application (Fauzi& Aziz,2020). Vocabulary is the ability to understand and use
a word effectively and appropriately to achieve comprehension, which suggests the close relationship between
vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension. Learners belong to beginner and intermediate levels and no
one in the proficient level (Cardente, 2023).
Teaching and learning process in the 21st century has been embedded with technology. Learning English is a
fundamental lesson for every level. there was the effectiveness of using the Pictoword game learning method on
the vocabulary mastery of student’s test indicate that the use of the game learning method using the Pictoword
game (Rosiana, 2022) Using quantitative research design using a quasi-experimental experiment and a control
group. students who were taught using the Pictoword Game was higher than students who were taught without
using Pictoword Game. by using the Pictoword Game Application, they want to recommend it to use by others
(Pratiwi,2023) Building critical thinking abilities has emerged as a key objective in the changing educational
landscape to get students ready for the challenges of the twenty-first century. Students in grade 8, who are
moving from foundational to advanced learning stages, need creative ways to improve these abilities. Learning
through games has become a popular way to keep pupils interested and improve their cognitive skills. One such
resource is the Pictoword game, which challenges children to think critically, make connections, and come up
with original solutions to problems using visual puzzles.With an emphasis on the game's effects on reasoning,
creativity, and problem-solving abilities, this study attempts to investigate how the Pictoword game might be a
useful tool for improving critical thinking in eighth-grade students. To give teachers useful insights into creative
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